


The Kindred Band

by ikittymow



Series: MarcoAceSabo Week2018 [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: All About Sabo, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Got really sad, It was supposed to be a little bit sad and a lot happy, M/M, MASweek2018, Marco/Ace Established Relationship, Sad with a Happy Ending, Self-Harm, Soulmate AU, it turned into a lot sad, mentioned depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 09:59:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15628266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikittymow/pseuds/ikittymow
Summary: Humans have mutated over the years to help us actually find our soulmates. When they meet a band will appear on the wrist, like a tattoo suddenly coming to life to circle all the way around. People started to call them the Kindred Band that links us to our kindred soulmate. Most are beautiful, different colors and shapes that fit the couple perfectly. Always matching each others to the smallest detail. There has never been one without color or without it being some complicated design. It instantly goes from nothing to something amazing, no in between.So what was wrong with Sabo's own?





	The Kindred Band

**Author's Note:**

> For MASweek2018 day 2 Cliche/ Favorite Trope.
> 
> I picked soulmates and it somehow got really sad for no reason.  
> I didn't edit any of it, might come by later to do that, not sure yet tho.

Everyone has a kindred soul. The one person who will love you unconditionally and you will love just the same. Two pieces of a puzzle slotting together perfectly in every way. It is called many different things; soulmate, destined one, the promised, true love. All coming from the same thing, that there is one person out there for everyone. When you finally meet your kindred soul it is said you finally feel whole. Like you were living your whole life as half a person, but when you two finally come together it's like you know you were nothing without them. 

Humans have mutated over the years to help us actually find our soulmates. When they meet a band will appear on the wrist, like a tattoo suddenly coming to life to circle all the way around. People started to call them the Kindred Band that links us to our kindred soulmate. Most are beautiful, different colors and shapes that fit the couple perfectly. Always matching each others to the smallest detail. There has never been one without color or without it being some complicated design. It instantly goes from nothing to something amazing, no in between. 

So what was wrong with Sabo's own?

A soft grey band appeared on his wrist late at night. He was home alone eating dinner when it showed up. He had no roommates that could have brought a friend over and they happened to be his soulmate. No, he was completely alone. He was finally able to live on his own from his oppressive parents and he was so happy. He had a good job, good friends, and a half way decent apartment to call his own. Sabo was very happy with his life. Until the band appeared. He cant even imagine what kind of design the faded band should be. It only being a blob of nothing but grey. 

When he isn't busy with work Sabo just stares at it sometimes. Not fully being able to process that this is where his Kindred Band should be. The thing that connects him to his destined one. This thing on him isn't a show he has found his true love, it’s a burden. Always sitting at the back of his mind to taunt him. Sabo has looked it up on the internet and in books, searching for why something like this happened to him. All his searching turning up nothing. Nothing even close to what was on his wrist has any kind of explanation. Even the first people to have ever gotten the band had it immediately show up, full of color and design when they met their other half. Even the specialized doctors on the Kindred Bands that he went to see in a panic had no explanation. 

Sabo was an anomaly. 

Sabo outwardly accepted it as his fate, while inside it tore him apart. It changed his whole life, the grey mess on him had people looking at him with pity. His friends, coworkers, neighbors, and anyone he passed by in the streets. They all pitied him. 

So Sabo changed his look. 

He wore gloves and dressed like the high class he was born as to cover the band in hopes that it if it was out of sight it would be out of mind for those around him. If only it worked that way. It seemed like the people closest to him couldn't get the grey band out of their heads, like all they could see when he was with them was the covered grey band around his wrist. 

Sabo could only stand the pitiful looks for two months.

He packed all of his belongings, quit his job, and moved two hours north. It was the perfect distance, still somewhat familiar and still far enough away from everyone he knew that he wouldn't accidently walk into someone he knew. He found an alright job with a ok apartment within walking distance of each other. He never mentioned the grey ring wrapped around his wrist and no one asked why he was always covered. It was the perfect solution, until the weirdly obsessed depression came.

At first it was a feeling at the back of Sabo's mind. Always thought about it in some way even more than before. Like how it seems the grey got a little darker after the move, but not enough that he could really be sure. He would still spend his nights, right before bed, staring at it and wondering about it's existence. But it drastically turned into crippling depression seemingly overnight. He would cry and scream when he even got the smallest glance at it. He would call off work and spend days just staring at it. He would try to wash it off with soap and water so hot he could hardly stand the pain. He would scratch at it, harder and harder till be bled. On his worst day he would get a knife and cut into it, leaving permanent vertical scars all around his wrist. 

Though the horrible sadness didn't last any longer then the worst day when the pain snapped him back to reality, he had to really keep focused to get better and not go tumbling back into it. It wasn't easy, and he did have some sad days but he never let himself cut into the grey band again. Actually accepting it as apart of his life and that there was nothing he could do to make it go away helped some. He hoped that maybe someday it will turn into a real Kindred Band.

The scars was a constant reminder of how deep into sadness he could go. It strangely enough also proved that it was the Kindred Band in some form because they can't be scarred or damaged. There are stories of house fires and the survivors arm would be completely burned, but the band would be unharmed after the healing to leave the colorful healthy skin surrounded by burn scars, a strange occurrence scientists don't have an exclamation for. Sabo cut multiple vertical lines all throughout his band on the worst day of his depression. It bled and hurt and scabbed over. But when it finally did heal the grey didn't have a blemish on it. Its like the lines paused when it hit the grey and then continued on the other side of it. It’s weird to look at but it does tell him that it really could be a Kindred Band.

After the month of his isolation he spent in sadness, he threw himself into work to keep his mind off of it; the depression, the band, his life. He had made some acquaintances at his work, but none he sought the company of after working hours. Sadly they were just another way to distract him from his personal life. Or the lack of it. He did the same thing every day; wake up, work, get home, eat, sleep. A cycle that allowed him to save money because he only bought what he really needed. 

With him constantly working he did get promoted fast. He made it to sales manager in the little company in only 18 months from starting at the bottom. It was a position that took some people at the very least 5 years to achieve. He was highly praised for his work but he didn't really care. He only took what was given. Going through life and not really living it.

After having the band for a total of one year and 8 months Sabo happened upon an interesting discovery. 

It was his first out of city business trip that took him a 4 hour drive south. He drove directly to the building the meeting was going to be at and got straight to work. He was only going to be there for three days, two for business and the third he had off. Because he went straight to work he didn't see what happened to the grey band around his wrist till he went to his hotel late at night and undressed for his shower. He instantly noticed it because it was so strange, the grey was completely gone. Not so pale he couldn’t see it, completely not there anymore. The scars that paused for the grey was a single line. Like it never paused for the band before. 

Sabo panicked. It was a bizarre sight of having only his scars decorating his flesh and not even a little trace of the grey. He used his phone to take multiple pictures of his wrist finally willing to document what was happening to him. Maybe if something actually came out of this he would be able to share it to other people like him, if there were anyone out there that were dealing with the same thing as him. 

His trip overall flew past him in his excitement over something new happening to something that has been tormenting him for what felt like a lifetime. Before he knew it he was already driving back home. He had to stop an hour in for fuel and decided on a whim to look at his wrist. It had actually changed. The scars paused, right where they did before and the palest of greys could be seen wrapped around his wrist. He made sure to take multiple pictures of it, at all angles, so he could take a look at them and see the progression when he got home. 

The trip had him stopping two more times before he got home. Once for every hour of driving so he would be able to take a few photos of his grey band. Each stop showed the band just a little darker than what it was before. Then when he finally made it home it was the same color he has remembered it being before the business trip. He still took photos of it, wanting to try to take a picture of it every few days to see if there is any difference in it.

There wasn't any difference to it, of course. He has been spending every night for the past 18 months of him living there staring at it before he went to sleep. He would have noticed something if there were even the slightest change to it over that time. 

He doesn't give up though. 

Because that is when he realizes that it is probably the distance traveled. When he went south it actually went completely away, and when he traveled back home it got darker. So maybe he needs to keep going north until he has his answer. So with an email to his boss in the middle of the night he finally agrees to the business meeting two hours north of home that is a month away.

The wait wasn't so bad, he has been waiting for so long already to find out what it means that a month is nothing. When the day finally arrives for him to leave for the 2 day business trip he gets so nervous. It could not change, the grey would stay the same on his wrist. Or everything will change, his thoughts on it being distance being true. So he waits to look. 

The two hour drive about drove him mad with anticipation. He almost looked, all he had to do was remove his glove and push his sleeve up and he would know if it changes or not. But he didn't let himself. He wouldn't be able to focus on the meetings he had tonight if he knew the outcome. So he waited. He got to the big city and to the building he would be spending the rest of his night in with half an hour to spare. This was considered the first day the meetings are, but it really spanned from 5 tonight till 7 in the morning. 14 hours of only meetings then the rest of the day to rest at a hotel to make the trip back home later in the night. It’s the reason no one wanted to accept it in the first place even with a heavy bonus on top of normal pay, but it would help him get answers so he will suffer through the hours till he gets to his hotel.

After the hours and hours of sitting through drawn out monotoned meetings he forgot about his need to see if anything with his grey band changed, his exhaustion leaving his mind empty of everything but getting to the hotel in one piece and sleeping. He leaves his long sleeve shirt on, still not looking, to fall onto the bed and sleep. 

He wakes up 9 hours later feeling fully rested. Sabo is a horrible morning person, always taking an hour before his brain decides to function correctly and register his surroundings. So he starts the shower and steps into it. It isn't until the point he is washing out the shampoo from his hair that the markings on his wrist grab his attention. His legs almost give out on him at the sight, so he sits down in the tub with his back towards the spray of water and stares at his wrist.

What was just a grey blob was now showing actual detail with his pale skin showing through the different designs decorating his wrist. He lightly traces the dark grey lines and chokes on a sob that rips through his body till he starts to cry uncontrollably. He clutches his wrist to his chest and lets the tears flow. He is so happy he can finally see what the design is supposed to be, but also incredibly sad that he didn't do this sooner, that his soul mate probably went through the same pain as he did when it appeared and he has made that person wait for so long.

Sabo stays curled up on the shower floor well after the water has gone cold. When he does manage to get up he washes the tears from his face and starts to think of his next move. Once out of the shower he quickly gets dressed with his gloves off and his shirt sleeve rolled up, showing his arms for the first time in public for a year and a half. He takes a moment to inspect it, there are still empty spots that he thinks maybe will fill in with color to make something, but he does see an outline of a bird with long feathers, a smiling face next to a frowning face, some squares, a strange cross, and what looked like a flock of dark colored birds. He makes sure to take many different kinds of pictures of it from all sides, some close so he can look at all the details when he gets home. The first thing he will do is drive around and watch the band to see if it fades or gets darker in any way.

He drives for hours, well into the night before he gets the idea of whats going on. All throughout the large city the band stays the same. As soon as he drives anywhere from 5-20 minutes outside of the city from any direction the lines become a lighter grey and the grey starts to fill it back in. He is thinking with how perfect his band looks while in the city, maybe his other half is someone among the thousands of people living there.

His drive home is riddled with everything he needs to do in preparation to find his special someone. He knows it will be hard to find them, so he will need to be prepared to be looking for a long time. So after the two hour drive home he immediately started to do preparations. He wrote up a two weeks resignation to work and emailed it to his boss at 3 in the morning. He looked up a climate controlled storage facility that he could have all of his things be put into that was affordable. Then wrote out a lease termination notice for his apartment, along with a date he would be moving out. 

When Sabo finally did go to sleep he had a time frame everything he will need to do over the next two weeks to start his search. He spends any free time he has packing all of his belongings and moving it to storage, making sure to leave out the two suitcases full of all his clothes, shoes, accessories, and toiletries he has packed for his search in the big city. It was a fairly easy task because he didn't have much but the basics, besides his books and those were easy enough to pack away within the large furniture. 

After the two weeks he left his job and the movers he hired to take the larger furniture to the storage place already came to get his things. So he just stood in the middle of his empty apartment. He was feeling nervous about the search he was going to do. But he was also very excited to finally be doing something about the grey on his wrist. Every night he would alternate between staring at the grey, trying to find the shapes he saw once before, and looking at the pictures he took of it when it showed the actual design of it. 

He takes a deep breath before leaving his apartment for the last time. When he gets into his car he takes his suit jacket off and then his gloves. He wanted to see the change from the grey to the design one last time because he wasn't going to leave that big city without finding his other half, so this will be the last time for him to see the grey blob on his wrist.

The two hours it took to drive to the city seemed to pass him by fast, and before he knew it he was checking into his hotel room and unloading his suitcases. He only booked a month and he cant be too sure if that would be too long or too short of a time frame to find his special person. He hopes that it's too short and he finds them right away, but he knows he shouldn't get his hope up incase it does take longer. 

Once he is done unpacking he sets out a map of the city on the table. He spends the rest of the day deciding the route he will take for the next month, trying to make it where he covers as much ground as he can while not wearing his body down too much. He divides the city up by little sections that he will walk around in for 4 days before moving onto the next place. Once he checks every area at different times of day, he will walk those areas at night. His soulmate might not go out during the daytime so he has to be ready for that too. He settles himself for the night, wanting to be well rested for his first day of searching.

The searching itself was easy, just walk around and look at as many people as he could and checking his wrist to see if anything about it changes. But after the first month it got a lot harder. Sabo had to change his hotel almost every week and his spirit was low without any real contact from anyone. He was lonely, walking around day after day, even when he was surrounded by people he couldn't shake off the loneliness. His body also hurt from the constant moving around, he was always so sore and stiff, and the change of beds didn't help much with it either. 

During the third month he would decide to sit places that had a wide view over the people walking by to rest his body. He figured if he got a good view where there was a large traffic of people he would have a good chance of finding his special person too. So he changed the map, making it to where the whole city was checked over two weeks, during the day and night, and marking special points that are good for observing people. During this month, right before bed, he would spend his time to lightly trace the dark grey lines with the tip of his finger, imagining it full of color.

The end of the fourth month was the hardest. It was a week past the two year anniversary since he has had the band around his wrist. He still walked around because there was nothing else he could do. He has already gone through a fourth of his savings, he did the math and he figures he can keep the search up for another year if he needs to. He really hopes it doesn't take that long, the past four months have already been bad enough, but he knows he will search for as long as he needs to finally find his special someone. 

A week later Sabo is walking through the park in the middle of the city. He usually sits at the edge and watches the people go by but it was late enough in the day there were hardly anyone about. The sun has set long ago and he decided to take a nice little walk through the trees and be really alone, the lamps every few feet lighting his way. 

He stares at his wrist, not paying attention to where he is going. At one section of the dim lighting coming from the lamp post, just like every other one he has passes by before, he sees a color start to bloom between the designs. He stops in his path next to the light to get a better look at the pale blue weaving its way throughout the grey lines. 

Sabo looks up just in time to see a person walk right into him, making him start to fall back. The other man quickly reaches out and catches him with a grip to his arm. Sabo can't help his body from shaking when he looks down at the wrist holding him up, seeing the same design he has been looking at nonstop for over four months from his own wrist on this other man. He feels more complete, noting as intense as he has heard about, but it’s a beautiful feeling that extends throughout his whole body. His eyes dart to the other man's face staring down at him with wide dark blue eyes. He has a strong angled face and dark blond hair going in random directions on top of his head, and Sabo can't stop the tears rolling down his cheeks as he looks at the most handsome person he has ever seen. The other man's face flashes concern when he sees the tears and pulls back a little.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" The other man asks. Sabo loves his voice too, all deep and perfect. He manages a smile while shaking his head and tries to wipe the tears from his face. He is about to open his mouth to say something, anything, when the man grabs the hand he was wiping his eyes with and pulls it towards him to look at Sabo's own Kindred Band, not noticing it before. The man looks back up at him with a dazzling smile on his face, looking like he is ready to burst from happiness. 

But Sabo sees his own band. It isn't filled in with color, it only has a light blue in some of the still dark grey parts. A sob rips from him at the sight of it, not understanding why it isn't complete. Why finally finding his destined one still isn't good enough for the thing on his wrist. 

Sabo stumbles back from the other man, his legs giving out from under him and he falls to his knees. He clutches on to his wrist, the still incomplete band, and cries. 

"Why isn't this good enough?" Sabo sobs, "I looked so hard and so long for you so why is it still not completed?" The man cups his face and wipes at the tears flowing down his face with a soft smile. 

"I know why, it'll all be ok," The man says softly. He places a light kiss on Sabo's four head and pulls back to stand up, pulling Sabo along with him. "Just come home with me and everything will be fine, I promise." Sabo can only manage to nod and stands up, too distraught to fully understand what was said. The man holds onto his hand and starts to walk with Sabo trailing behind him. 

Sabo continues to cry, so broken up and confused over everything. He would have just stayed curled on the ground crying if it wasn't for the warm hand wrapped around his own, leading him to the man's home. While they walk the man pulls his phone out and makes a call. Sabo can't hear anything being said over his own thoughts rushing through his head and him trying to stop the tears flowing out of him. So he only focuses on his feet taking one step at a time and the warm hand around his own as he works on calming down.

It isn't a long walk before they enter an apartment building and go up the elevator. Sabo has managed some control of his crying by the end of the long walk down the hall to the very last door. The other man stops in front of it while pulling out his keys to unlock and open the door. He is led down a small hallway and onto a couch in the spacious living room to sit down in. The man mentions something about making tea and walks off towards what he assumes is the kitchen. Sabo looks at his wrist and falls in love with the pretty light blue, such a pleasant change from having just grey even if it isn't complete. Sabo traces it whit his finger, like he has so many times before. Shame fills him when he looks at the many scars surrounding the band. He really hopes the other man didn't notice them. It would be so hard to explain. 

"I hope you don't mind sweet tea," The man says while handing him a glass and sits on the couch next to Sabo. "I'm Marco by the way." Sabo gratefully takes the glass and takes a sip of the sweet liquid.

"I'm Sabo," He can't help but to smile at the other man. Marco. Such a perfect name for the beautiful man beside him. 

"Sabo," Marco says his name in a sort of awe, "its nice to finally meet you." He moves a little closer to Sabo an tucks some of the blond hair in his face behind his ear. Sabo can feel his face heating up at the close contact, never being able to experience anything like it before. "How long have you been searching?" Marco asks quietly, wiping some of the tears still wet on his cheeks. 

"Just a little over four months now," Sabo pauses to put his glass down on the table beside the couch, "I should've started earlier, but I didn’t know what it all meant." A few tears escape him and he desperately tries to wipe them away, already so tired of crying over this. "I should have started two years ago when it first showed up," he stutters out, taking deep breaths to try and calm down. Marco grabs his wrist and runs his fingers over the design. When he feels the raised flesh of the scars he looks down at it. 

"Oh Sabo," Marco's voice cracks over his name as he lightly touches the scars surrounding the half completed band. "I am so sorry. It must have been so hard to handle, I couldn't even imagine what you must have gone through." Sabo opens his mouth to say that no, he was sorry for doing something so shameful but the front door banging open stops him.

"Marco! I'm home!" A new man says from the front door, hidden by the hallway to get into the living room. There is some rustling and the door closing a lot quieter than how it opened before the voice starts back up. "What's so important I had to leave work right away for?" The man finally comes into the room and freezes when he sees Sabo sitting on the couch with his hand in Marco's.

Sabo feels it. Finally fully feels it. Your destined one being right in front of you and you feel complete for the first time. He felt a little of it with Marco, but he finally understands everything now, why Marco said everything will be ok. He watches the new man with dark hair and hundreds of freckles on his face look down at his colorful wrist with tears rolling down his face. Sabo doesn't need to look at his own, he already knows its finally complete. 

Sabo watches as the unnamed man stumbles his way to him in his rush. Without hesitation he climbs into Sabo's lap, his legs places on either side of Sabo's own, to cling to him and start to sob into Sabo's neck. Sabo lets the tears flow, so full of happiness and relief. He feels like he will never stop crying. He turns his head to Marco who is looking at them both with pure joy, a few tears falling from his eyes too.

"There's three of us," Sabo manages to choke through the tears. Marco nods at him and moves close to wrap the two is his arms.

Sabo doesn't know how long they stay like that, even after the tears have stopped, just holding onto each other. Someone's stomach grumbles and Sabo can't help but to giggle at the noise, finally feeling his own hunger spark to life. The man on top of him whines and pull back to look at Marco. 

"I'm hungry," He grumbles and looks to Sabo "you're hungry too." The man decides all on his own, Sabo giggles even more at the ridiculousness of it and nods his head. The man stares at him with an unreadable face and Sabo stares back in confusion, already wondering if he has done something wrong. The man smiles brightly and uses both hands to squish Sabo's face. 

"He has a cute laugh," the man turns Sabo's head around and looks at his face from different angles, "His face is pretty too." Sabo's head gets pulled towards the man's chest and arms wrap around his head to hold him close. "Can we keep him Marco?" Sabo can hear Marco laugh and he relaxes into the man holding him, wrapping his arms around his back. Sabo feels Marco's hand gently running his fingers through his hair. 

"Only if he wants to stay with us," Marco chuckles and stands up. "I'll order us some pizza. Is there any kind you don't like Sabo?" Sabo manages to turn his head in the man's grasp to see a little sliver of Marco over the arm wrapped around his head.

"I will eat anything, but I can pay it for intruding on your home," Sabo's voice is muffled by the arm in his face but Marco seems to have heard him and waves him off. 

"You don't know how much this one eats and I dragged you here so you have no obligation to pay for anything," Marco says while pulling out his phone and walking out of the room to order the food. 

Once Marco is out of sight the man pulls back from Sabo and looks down at him. Sabo smiles and leans back into the couch to get a better look at the man above him. The man looks down at his own wrist and smiles at the completed band. Sabo realizes that they must have had unfinished bands just like him and he feels so bad for not looking for them sooner. Sabo moves his hand to lightly touch the other's band, having the man look up at him instead.

"I'm sorry for not searching for you sooner, I didn't understand it until recently," Sabo quietly says. He watches as tears reach the other man's eyes and quickly shakes his head. He lifts Sabo's hand up instead and presses soft kisses to his scarred wrist. 

"No Sabo, I'm sorry. We should have been looking too," He smiles at Sabo and rubs his cheek against the colorful wrist. "I couldn't have imagined we would have two destined ones at once. I've never heard of that happening before but now that you're here it feels so right." Sabo smiles at him and runs his hand that the man was kissing through his hair, pushing it back to reveal his freckled face.

"Whats your name?" Sabo asks and the man smiles down at him. 

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The man says and wiggles in his lap. Marco walks in and sighs. He pulls the man off of Sabo's lap and moves him to sit on the couch.

"His name is Ace, and yes he is always like this," Marco says and sits on the other side of Sabo from where he places Ace. "And food will be about an hour." Ace just grumbles and Marco laughs. Sabo looks between them and can't help but to smile.

"Tell me about yourselves," Sabo requests, he really wanted to know more then just their names. He wanted to know every little detail about them, his soulmates.

"Nope," Ace bluntly says. Sabo looks at him in shock and confusion, about to open his mouth to say something when Marco beats him to it.

"We would rather know about you," Marco moves his body to face Sabo, Ace doing the same so they can both look at him easily. Sabo looks a little unsure but their soft smiles has him sighing, willing to give in and then have them tell him about themselves when he is done. Sabo looks down at his wrist in his lap, loving all the colors making such a pretty design on him but his focus goes to the scars. He grips it in hand and hides it from view. 

"It's not the happiest story," Sabo mumbles, hoping they would let it drop but knows they wont. He wouldn't let either of them if they were in his place. So he isn't surprised when Ace grips one hand and Marco the other with the band, lightly pressing his lips to the scars.

"It's ok if it isn't. We would like to know," Ace says while gripping his hand a little harder in comfort. 

Sabo sighs and looks to the floor. He starts with how controlling and horrible his parents were to him, that as soon as he was able to move out of that toxic home the grey appeared on him. That he couldn't handle the way people treated him about it so he moved. He explained in detail on his sadness over the sight of his wrist and what he did to himself in his confusion, not wanting to leave anything out. He heard Ace trying to muffle his crying, it broke his heart to be the cause of that but he wanted to end this story quickly. So he continued with out pause, still staring down at the ground. He told them that all he did was work, disconnecting from everyone around him and he got promoted fast because of it. He took his phone out and showed them the pictures that he took during his first business trip of his wrist, and when he traveled to this city and he finally figured it out. So he dropped everything to search for them. 

Sabo looks at them when he is finished. Ace is wiping the tears from his face and Marco's eyes are red. Sabo quickly looks back down to the floor and hugs his arms to himself.

"I'm sorry," Sabo apologizes for everything. He didn't want to put this burden on them. He should have lied, say that he just happened onto Marco in the park. But he would feel horrible about lying about something so important, and he wouldn't be able to explain away the scars or how twisted his personality must seem from his self inflicted isolation. He suddenly has two arms wrapped around him, crushing him in their hold.

"Don't ever be sorry. Ever Ever Sabo," Ace says, the tears held back has his voice sounding rough against his ear.

"You did nothing wrong and everything right. You searched for us when we just stayed here," Marco's voice is thick with his sadness, refusing to let it out. 

"What did you think," Sabo asks them while pulling away a little to see their faces, "What did you think when your Kindred Band wasn't completed when you met each other." Marco opens his mouth to reply, Ace too busy wiping the last of the tears from his face, when the door bell rings. Marco sighs and removes himself from Sabo completely to get their food. Sabo turns to Ace for an answer.

"I thought I was broken," Ace manages to whisper and clings onto Sabo a little harder. "Like I wasn't truly good enough to have my own kindred soul." Aces voice cracks and he pulls away from Sabo so they can look at each other face to face. "I know Marco felt the same, he just didn't let it rule his life, but it was all I could think about." Ace presses their four heads together, his big warm hands cupping his face. Sabo stares into the grey eyes filled with tears.

"But we weren’t alone like you were. We had each other to lean on," Ace's voice thickens with the fresh tears rolling down his face. "You were so alone while Marco and I had each other. That’s not fair. You didn't deserve any of that pain." Sabo is in shock by Ace's words. He thought when he started his search that his soulmate was only one person, just as lost as he was about it all. But that wasn't it. It was two people that were a little stronger together when the sadness and uncertainness became too much. 

"Don't down play your own or Marco's pain from all of this, it was just as bad for you two as it was for me," Sabo says determinedly, "I'm strong and I can handle what I went through because it led me to you two." Sabo smiles and rubs his nose against Ace's own till he laughs and pulls away. Marco clears his throat and their attention quickly goes to him. He smiles and holds up the four boxes of pizza and takes it to the dining room that is right besides the kitchen. 

"Yes! Food!" Ace exclaims. He quickly presses a kiss against Sabo's lips and rushes towards the food. Sabo stays sited in stunned silence. He can feel the blood rush to his head and darken his cheeks a cherry red. He brings his hand up and lightly touches his lips, still able to feel the tingling warmth of Ace's lips against his own. 

"Sabo? Is everything ok?" Marco asks, suddenly standing right in front of him. Sabo looks up at him startled and moves his hand from his face.

"Sorry. Yes I'm just fine. I must have zoned out a bit there," Sabo says in a rush, his voice a definite higher pitch then his normal voice. Marco's eyes narrow in suspicion. Sabo watches with wide eyes as Marco kneels in front of him and looks at him with concern.

"Your face it red," Marco places his hand onto Sabo's four head to check his temperature, "All of the crying and the increased emotions could have triggered a fever." Sabo is quick to shake his head.

"Ace he-" Sabo cuts himself off and looks over at Ace in the dining room already eating a slice of pizza and looking at him curiously. Sabo quickly looks to Marco, already knowing that his face is heating up even more. "I'm sorry. It's nothing bad. I've never been really kissed before and it took me by surprise is all." Sabo rushes out in one breath. He can hear Ace in the dining room coughing, probably in surprise over Sabo's confession. He watches as Marco's eyes slowly widening in understanding, making Sabo fidget in place. 

"You said 'its nothing bad' so does that mean that its alright if we kiss you?" Marco suddenly asks through the silence. Sabo stares at him for a moment, but Marco's blank face is giving nothing away. His eyes dart to Ace still in the dining room, looking at him in a kind of wonder on his face. He takes a calming breath and shrugs. 

"I don't mind it. I have never done it before is all," Sabo says shyly. Marco smiles and leans forward till their faces are almost touching. He pauses for a moment, searching Sabo's eyes for something that he doesn't seem to find and presses forward. Their lips slotting together in a perfect kiss that he wants to last forever. Sabo can hear a deep laugh coming from Marco as he pulls away way too soon, making him open his eyes he didn't even realize he closed. He feels a hand in his hair, lightly tugging it to get him to tilt his head back. Ace is right above him, leaning down till their lips are almost touching.

"My turn," Ace whispers against Sabo's lips. Ace gives his hair a sharp tug, causing Sabo to open his mouth in a gasp. Ace connects their lips, his tongue sliding into Sabo's open mouth. Ace instantly moans into the kiss, causing a shutter to wrack Sabo's body. As soon as he is getting used to the feeling of having Ace's tongue in his mouth he pulls away, leaving Sabo breathless. 

"Lets eat!" Ace says excitedly and rushes back into the dining room. Sabo looks to Marco in confusion over everything that just happened.

"Nothing much gets between Ace and his food. He is always hungry and ready to eat," Marco chuckles and looks at Ace stuffing his face with pizza fondly. He reaches his hand out to help Sabo up and leads him to the dining room. "We will eat then sleep. We can discuss what everyone wants to do tomorrow after a good nights rest." Sabo laughs, still a little stunned over being suddenly kissed like that.

"That sounds like a good plan," Sabo honestly replies. They sit down at the table and Ace hands them each a box of pizza, keeping the other two for himself. 

Sabo just smiles and watches his two soulmates talk and bicker across from one another while they eat. He is so happy he was able to drop everything to find them. All the pain and sadness he went through was worth every second if he gets to spend the rest of his life with these two men. His eyes can't help but to track their identical colorful Kindred Bands around their wrist, finally looking so full and beautiful. He looks down at his own, as he has done every day for just over two years, and traces the black lines of the design, completely filled in with color now. 

He knows it might not all be easy from here on out. There will be some changes to all three of their lives to fit in an extra person. But it will be worth it in the end. The three of them were made for each other, there is nothing that can change that. He is the luckiest person in the world. To have twice the amount of love given to him, and that he can give in return, than any other person.

Two soulmates will defiantly be better than one.


End file.
